Opening my own school was never my goal or dream. My mother was a teacher, and I had no interest in it at all. My daughter started attending a Montessori school in Whitby and she loved it. My son didn’t fit in any school. No one could see who he was through his disruptive behaviour. I was embarrassed; wondering where I’d gone wrong? During this time I was commuting from Whitby to Toronto to further my education, but no pre-school was working for my son. I never knew what my day would look like.
One day, on my way to class I got a call from my son’s preschool. It was the third day in a row they called to say he’d vomited from his upset. Predictably, once I picked him up, he was completely fine. I was at a loss. I didn’t know what to do. I started bringing him back and forth to university with me as I dug deep into researching ALL possible options. Montessori lacked the creative & imaginative learning that captured his interest Waldolf - lacked the structure he needed to feel secure. Public school was not a fit - there was no way my boy would sit at a desk and comply. Homeschooling ; my boy needed the opportunity to exercise feeling secure & confident away from me, his Mom. British Education System, I learned how this system integrates success acknowledgement to every child.
Through my feverish research, it was 100% clear to me. What children need is a system that identifies early, how that child learns. Every child is filled with curiosity, they want to learn, they seek information...our job is to observe HOW they learn, how each individual child learns, what sparks their curiosity & how do things makes sense to their mind? Questions whirled in my mind: Why didn’t this exist? Why are kids inside so much? Why are we failing our kids that don’t fit; causing them to believe the problem is them? In talking to other parents, I realized I wasn’t alone. My son’s experience was not unique. I knew exactly what I had to do. I had to leave my position as a Montessori Elementary School Teacher and found the school that I was seeking!
That was some years ago now and year after year I’ve witnessed, when we identify early HOW a child learns, foster felt experiences of their successes, when they feel seen and heard and know they belong, their excitement for learning flourishes! And so does their confidence & independence.
Now, my son lives half-way across the country where he’s studying ballet on a scholarship! I am so proud of him, my daughter who is studying psychology and my other son who has just started university and is pursuing photography. I am also recently married after the loss of my late husband, David and now my new husband, Nick and I have eight children together ranging from 8 years to 24 years old. Yes, I know, we are somewhat of a Brady Bunch!